As brand photographers, our number one goal and priority is to take photos and videos that showcase a brand’s unique story and offerings – bringing their goods or services to life with strategic visuals.
When we first began this adventure as brand photographers, we were practicing with whatever we possibly could – fresh produce or home-cooked meals, flowers from a local market, things around the house – whatever we could find that inspired us to build our portfolio and enhance our skills. This led to some really fun and interesting still life photos, but they missed one key element: a brand.
So, the next step in our journey was collecting branded goods from the grocery store, purchasing them, and bringing them home to create branded imagery. Again, it was a great stepping stone in our growth process, but something still felt like it was missing. We were creating images for brands that – in many cases – already had name recognition, a marketing department, and photos specific to their products.
It didn’t lead to many collaborative pieces of content that helped us grow online. More importantly, we did not have a client who was excited to see the final visuals of their incredible goods or services, and it wasn’t fulfilling the full potential we wanted our work to reach.
That’s when we decided to reach out to other small brands in our local community to offer complimentary collaborations. Ever since we started doing this in November 2025, we wouldn’t look back or change a thing – because we finally found exactly what we were looking for on this venture.
The Benefits of the Social Media Collaborations
It’s hard to summarize the benefits these collaborations have had for us, because we’ve seen so many wins. But below, we’ll look a little deeper into some of the top benefits we’ve found from this endeavor.
We Grow Together
Social media today is a complex jungle – and standing out is just as hard now as it has ever been. With collaborations, we get to share our visuals with audiences who likely never knew who we are or what we do.
At the same time, our collaborative partners get to showcase their brand’s offerings with unique, custom-tailored images created specifically for them – with their brand strategically built into the photos.
All of our collaborations begin with a conversation to learn more about the brand – from the aesthetics and vibe they want their products shown in, to what they most want to showcase (behind the scenes, product images, services, etc.) – and a strategy for how we will roll that out over the collaboration month.
Our goal is that this not only grows both of our social media presences, but that together we grow our client bases as well – essentially powerful exposure for both of us.
Our Portfolio Grows + Our Collaborator Showcases Their Brand
We find the mutual benefit for both us and our partner collaborators to be huge. We get to build our portfolio, showcase a local brand’s products or services, and share their story all at the same time.
We’ve always believed a brand photographer’s portfolio should be brand-specific, and through these collaborations, we ensure our content reflects that belief.
At the same time, our partners receive photos and videos we’ve worked hard to create — and they get to share that with their followers (and new audiences) all at the same time, often at little to no cost to themselves.
We Meet More Exciting Businesses in Our Community
This is one of our favorite parts of the collaborations — we’ve met so many fun, innovative, awesome brands and people through this process.
We’ve tried all sorts of things we didn’t even know about before the collaboration, and we are so thankful for the opportunity to grow our network of peers (and friends) through such an awesome system.
At the same time, we feel a lot of pride in helping share the stories of these brands with extended audiences and helping our community continue to prosper and grow.
Little Costco Samplers 😉
Not everyone who collaborates with us is in the market for new visuals — and that’s 100% okay with us.
However, we have also found brands that are in the market for brand photos, and these collaborations allow them to sample our work — and allow us to prove ourselves.
We like to think of it as the Costco sampler.
We Get to Showcase Brands in a Variety of Ways
Through these collaborations, every brand brings its own aesthetic, vibe, and mood. This gives us the opportunity to create imagery that reflects a wide variety of brand styles.
Whether the brand is:
- moody and elegant
- clean and simple
- warm and cozy
- fun and vibrant
—or anything in between — we get the opportunity to learn each brand’s style and intentionally build it into the images and reels we create.
And sometimes they don’t know exactly what that is — and that’s okay. Part of the adventure is working together to help discover and define how they see their brand.
The Collaboration Allows Us to Constantly Improve Our Processes
Our process is constantly evolving to ensure the content we create fits our clients and their needs perfectly.
These collaborations allow us to continue refining everything — from the initial consultation to photoshoot design to communication throughout. These “little samplers” give us valuable data to help us grow, understand exactly what questions to ask, and iron out any wrinkles along the way.
It’s the perfect opportunity to work with a wide community of small businesses while ensuring we are delivering 100% on what clients need — every time — and streamlining the experience so no one’s valuable time or resources are wasted.
A Continued Place for Improvement
Nobody is perfect. Nobody knows everything. Acknowledging that — and continuously striving to be better — is what helps us show up at our best.
These collaborations give us space to keep honing our skills, whether it’s:
- posing
- composition
- styling and design
- editing
- communication
Maybe some would see that as a turn-off. But we’re not here to pretend we know everything — we don’t.
One of our core values is curiosity and the desire to continuously pursue growth. These collaborations give us the space to keep sharpening our craft.
We Improve Through New Ideas
Building on that spirit of growth, this community has pushed us to try things we had never even considered.
For instance, one brand had a gnome mascot they wanted incorporated into real-life imagery to showcase the whimsical side of their brand. That initial conversation had me nervous — I had not only never done this, I had never considered it.
Fast forward a few weeks later, and the images were complete.
I had unlocked a new skill.
They unlocked new confidence in what I can deliver.
And I built confidence knowing I can promise similar results to future clients.
Our Collaborators Are Excited!
Much like the community aspect, this is another one of our favorite reasons for collaborating — our partners get genuinely excited seeing their brand’s story brought to life in our visuals.
We aren’t creating for a big-name entity that doesn’t care what we capture. In many cases, we’re working with small startups, families, or charities that may not have the resources they think they need to get professional photos done.
These collaborations give them a low- to no-cost entry point, and the result is often real excitement when they see their brand come to life.
And I can’t tell you — as a photographer — just how motivating that is. Making someone else excited and confident in their brand? That’s everything.
Brand Recognition!
With our continued growth in the community, our brand recognition has grown as well.
We’ve had experiences where we walk into establishments around the region and people recognize us as the brand photographers who worked with some of their favorite local businesses. That kind of recognition is incredibly exciting.
Not only does it affirm that the work is being seen, but it also builds trust. When new brands recognize us, they already know we’re approachable, invested in our community, and genuinely excited to collaborate with other local businesses.
And that momentum? It continues to build.
What the Social Media Collaborations Entail
Every month we pair with three local brands to learn about their business and create:
- one still image for each week of the month
- plus two carousels or reels that showcase their brand in action
The images are not automatically delivered for general use. However, if a collaborator falls in love with a particular image, we’re always happy to discuss simple licensing options.
We schedule the content across social platforms and send the posting schedule to each brand. Depending on the content, posts may be shared to:
- Instagram (weekly)
- YouTube
- TikTok
Our General Process
While the process is dynamic and always evolving, our typical flow looks like this:
Initial Conversation (30 minutes)
We learn about your brand story, aesthetics, mood, and what you’re hoping to showcase. We also welcome inspiration sources (similar IG profiles or Pinterest images).
Storyboard Creation
We create a visual plan for your photos, reels, and carousels and send it for review. It’s not set in stone — it’s a collaborative starting point.
Photoshoot (about two months before your collaboration month)
This may be in person or in studio. Most shoots take about four hours, sometimes longer to ensure everything is dialed in.
Editing + Scheduling
We edit and schedule content about one month before your collaboration month. You’ll receive an email with exact posting dates and preview stills.
Go Live
When content posts, you’ll receive a simple collaboration invite via DM. Accept it, and the content appears on both of our feeds.
Easy and truly win-win.
What’s the Cost to Collaborators?
For now, these are intended to be complimentary collaborations, and we work hard to keep costs minimal.
In some cases — such as consumable product shoots — we may require product. (We can’t exactly return cookies and donuts after a shoot… gross. 😄)
Other times, you may be asked to supply specialty props or cover minimal fuel costs for extended travel. But overall, we aim to keep this as accessible and beneficial as possible for both sides.
Can Your Brand Collaborate?
We are always looking for exciting brands — whether product-based, service-based, or charitable — to collaborate with.
Our main requirement is simple: collaborators should be active on at least one social platform so both of us can benefit from the shared visibility.
If your brand is active online and you’re looking for images and reels that truly showcase what you bring to the table, we’d love to connect.
We look forward to chatting with you. ✨